As reported by Android Central, Meta has shut the doors on Ready at Dawn, a first-party studio that formed more than two decades ago and was acquired by the company in 2020 to develop VR games for the Oculus/Meta platform.
The closure comes after a smaller round of cuts last year that took out approximately a third of Ready at Dawn’s employee base, along with the shut down of its free-to-play competitive action sports title Echo VR. Android Central says that it viewed an internal memo sent to Meta employees that suggests the company is on track to cut the budget for its Reality Labs division by 20% before 2026, a spokesperson saying cuts are being made to “ensure that Reality Labs stays within the new budgetary constraints” and so that Oculus Studios can make a “better long-term impact in VR development.”
Ready at Dawn was formed in 2003 and including some ex-Naughty Dog talent, developing a number of original PSP games based on iconic franchises like Jak & Daxter and God of War in its early years, along with the Wii port of Capcom’s classic Okami, before releasing the technologically-impressive PS4 exclusive, The Order: 1886, in 2015. A couple of years later, the studio started producing VR titles with Lone Echo for the Oculus Rift. The last game it released after being acquired by Meta and before being shut down was 2021’s Lone Echo II.
We don’t have an exact read on the number of employees affected by this closure, but Android Central was told by Meta that it hasn’t been enough to trigger California’s WARN Act, which suggests it was less than 50. Affected staff have been encouraged to apply elsewhere within Meta.
Meta also reportedly commented that the company is still committed to VR development and that the closure of Ready at Dawn is not indicative of wider cuts to first-party games on Quest.
